In General

The Civil Court has monetary jurisdiction
up to $25,000.00, including replevin
when the value of the chattel
does not exceed that amount. It has jurisdiction of real property
actions, such as partitions, and foreclosures, within the
monetary limit. The Civil Court also has equity jurisdiction
limited to real property actions, ejectment actions, and actions
to rescind or reform a contract not involving more than the
$25,000.00 jurisdictional limit.

Cases filed in the Civil Court are varied, but in general
seek an award of a money judgment. Some of the kinds of cases
most often filed in the Civil Court and decided in the civil
parts include the following:
1. Small loans: e.g., banks, credit cards, personal, home improvement,
and student loans
2. Goods sold and delivered: e.g., to recover money due for
items ordered
3. Labor and Services: e.g., to recover money due for work
done
4. Hospital Bills: e.g., to recover money due for rooms, medicine
or medical procedures
5. Professional Services: e.g., to recover money due for dental
or legal work
6. Trade Services: e.g., to recover money due for plumbing
or electrical work
7. Personal Property: e.g., to recover for injury to property
such as auto accidents, damage to a house
8. Personal Injury: e.g., to recover for injuries to a person
9. Subrogated Claims: e.g., where an insurance company pays
its clients under "no fault" and later sues the
responsible party to recover the money
10. Rent Payment when the tenant is no longer in the apartment
11. Commercial landlord-tenant cases

Cases brought by self-represented litigants are automatically
placed on the court’s Personal Appearance Part calendar
for conference when an answer is filed. Likewise, when an
answer is filed by a self-represented litigant in a case started
by an attorney, the case is also placed on the Personal Appearance
Part calendar. The Judges presiding in this Part oversee all
conferences, discovery
and in some boroughs all motion
practice, up until the trial.